Boxes
by BonesBBLover
Summary: Our favorite characters struggle with boxes, some from their past, others from the present.    Cappie.Casey     Rusty.Jen K
1. Casey

**Hey guys, this is my first fic for Greek. And the first time I've written in a while, since my Bones muse has apparently died. Feedback is always good, so after you've read it, click the nice little blue button and let me know what you think!  
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Casey stood in the doorway of the ZBZ house, looking around carefully.

She had come back nearly a week before anyone else would return, desperate for some alone time to think things through. She had tried to think back in Chicago, but people she had gone to high school with kept calling her and inviting her to parties she didn't want to go to.

She took a few steps further into the entryway, closing the door softly behind her. Leaving her bags by the door, she began a slow walk of the house. She wandered through the living room and dining room before moving into the kitchen and back to the base of the staircase.

As she walked, she examined the precise placement of every item and knick-knack in the house, the perfect order of things. Things she loved, the great marble pillars and ornamentation, the plaques commemorating the great ZBZs before her.

At the base of the stairs, she took in the regality of the house, the plush luxury she had become so accustomed to. Turning to the mirror she had stared into the night she had been crowned Omega Chi sweetheart, she finally understood she had all of the regality and power she had coveted for a year and a half. And yet it wasn't enough. She wasn't happy.

She watched herself in the mirror, thinking over the events of the past semester. _I finally have the ZBZ presidency… isn't that what I wanted?_ she wondered to herself.

_Maybe I'm unhappy with how things worked out with Evan…_ she tried again, thinking of the disastrous end to their relationship. _No, that's not really it. I'm surprisingly okay with that turn of events._

She thought over the past year and a half-- the time she spent working towards the ZBZ presidency, the time spent with her sisters, and her time with Evan. As if a light bulb had gone off in her head, she suddenly stumbled, grabbing the banister to steady herself against the conclusion she had come to.

_I haven't been happy this whole time,_ she realized. _I've been filling my life with things and goals I thought would make me happier, but I haven't been happy since my first year. Since Cappie._

Tearing her eyes away from the mirror, she moved to the living room and collapsed onto the sofa. _All of this,_ she thought, _the presidency, Evan, the competition with Frannie… I was just distracting myself from the truth. The truth I've destroyed in my attempt to find something better. But there is nothing better; nothing has made me happy since him._

Overcome by the discovery she had made about her own heart, she buried her face in her hands as hot tears began falling from her eyes.

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No one could say Casey didn't have goals and dreams, but as she was quickly beginning to understand, achieving them was not enough to make her happy.

She could back to Evan and beg forgiveness, beg him to take her back. With him, she had security and the guarantee of a comfortable future. She would be able to do everything she dreamed of, but it would be a relationship of routine, boring love. She would be content and accomplished, but would she be happy?

Or there was Cappie. Cappie, who she knew would take her back in a heartbeat. Cappie, the only person who had truly made her happy. Who had really loved her, with pure, naïve, unconditional love. Whose heart she had broken not only once, when she had left him for Evan, but twice, when she had chosen to be lavaliered by Evan. Cappie, who was always unpredictable and different. Who never wanted her to be anything or anyone but who she was. Who supported her and accepted her decisions in whatever she did, including her decision to leave him. _Cappie_.

Jumping up from the couch, she almost fell in her haste to get up the stairs to her room. Reaching the room, she opened the closet, rummaging in the back corner for a box she knew she had left there. When her hand brushed against the paper edge of it, she reached a little bit deeper to grab it and pull it out.

Sitting cross-legged in the middle of her room, she looked at the outside of the blue photo box, studying the dusty fingerprints littered across the top edges from opening it frequently over the past semester. Carefully prying the top off the box, she set it aside, and looked into the box.

Lying on top was a framed picture of her and Cappie from the Vesuvius party their first year. They were sitting next to each other on the porch railing, staring into the others' eyes so intently they appeared to be oblivious to the noise and people surrounding them. The Kappa Tau who had taken the picture, she couldn't remember his name, had caught the pair blissfully unaware, content in their happiness to just be with the other.

Taking the bamboo frame from the box, she smiled down at the picture in her hands, remembering what had happened later that night when Cappie had walked her back to her dorm. That was the first time they had made love, and for as awkward and terrifying as it had been, she knew it could not have been any better. There was no one she would have rather lost her virginity to than the love of her life.

Setting the picture aside, she reached into the box, brushing aside folded notes on fading notebook paper, pictures of the two from a variety of events (each photo with a hole from the bulletin board they had been posted on in her room that year), and random little knick-knacks and things he had given her over their year together. Reached the bottom of the box, her fingers touched the soft velvet exterior of a jewelry box. Pulling it free from the depths of the box, she opened it slowly, the light from the setting sun reflecting off the small, silver locket.

Removing the locket from the box, she ran the chain through her fingers, wrapping them gently around the locket itself. Running her thumb over the smooth metal of the front, she turned it over to see the inscription on the back. _Always in my heart_, she read, touching the small _C_ on the line below. Turning it back over in her hand, she slid her nail into the groove causing it to open. On the left was a picture of the pair just before Christmas, kissing in the snow outside the Kappa Tau house. On the right, a picture of the pair with Casey resting her head on Cappie's shoulder and his arm around her, both with their eyes shut peacefully. It had been taken at the park just days before her birthday, she suspected by the same Kappa Tau who had taken the one of them at the Vesuvius party. He was very talented, whoever he was.

Still looking at the pictures, she thought about her birthday in question, when Cappie had given her the locket. It had been the perfect day. She had woken up in his arms in the small dorm room, the early morning sunlight streaming through the window and onto his sleeping face. She had watched him sleeping serenely, a small smile playing on his lips. Finally she couldn't help but touch him, brushing a lock of his soft hair off his forehead. He had woken slowly, kissing her softly and sweetly, and pulling her closer as they burrowed back under the covers. When they finally emerged a couple of hours later, he had made omelets, feeding it to her in bed. After breakfast and a shower, they had climbed into his Jeep, heading off to her birthday surprise. He had driven them up to the lake about an hour from the campus, where a friend of his had a cabin he had borrowed for the weekend. They had gone swimming in the lake, taking turns jumping off the dock and trying to dunk the other. When they got hungry, Cappie had pulled out a picnic onto the dock, where they ate in the sunshine, enjoying the peacefulness of the quiet afternoon. Later, after he had given her the locket, they had made love, first on the dock, then over and over throughout the night in the cabin. The following two days had followed in a similar fashion before they had to return to school.

Choking back a sob, Casey remembered how she had coldly walked away from him a month later for his roommate who never did anything that romantic for her.

_Why did I ever listen to Frannie?_ she wondered in dismay, _Why?_


	2. Cappie

**Although this story was originally intended as a one-shot, I had a few ideas to add to it. So with great pleasure I bring you another chapter! As always, feedback is what keeps me writing, so if you want more, let me know by leaving me a review!**

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Chapter 2—Cappie 

Cappie looked at his phone as it rang for the third time in the past hour. Quickly hitting the 'reject' button, he seriously contemplated throwing it out the second-floor window or flushing it down the toilet. Giving up on the fantasies, he turned the phone off and threw it onto his bed where it bounced and fell between the mattress and the wall, a loud clunk sounding as it hit the wooden floorboards.

"Damn!" he swore, walking across the room to the bed and getting down on his hands and knees. Peering under the bed at his parents' house, he didn't know what he would find, other than two and a half years worth of dust.

Reaching as far back into the darkness as he could without putting any other parts of his body under the bed, he scrambled to find the phone. As he moved his hand a few inches further along the wall, he came into contact with something that was much larger, and more solid, than his small flip phone.

_What the hell is that? _he wondered, having no memory of ever placing a box under the bed. Pulling gently, the box slid out from under the bed, the afternoon sunlight glinting off the shining clasp of the box.

Realizing what the box was, his face fell. Silently cursing himself for his insatiable curiosity, he wanted nothing more than to shove the box back under the bed and once again forget it even existed.

But this was Cappie, and he was nothing, if not an emotional masochist. Flipping open the clasp on the side of the box, he lifted the lid to reveal the contents of the box.

Lying on the top was a soft, leather wristband. Lifting it gently from the box, his ran his fingers over the well-worn leather, tracing over the Greek letters that were stamped onto the band. She had ordered it as a surprise for him when he became a full-fledged member of Kappa Tau, the first thing he owned with his letters on them. Everyday they were together he had worn it, and for a year after they had broken up, because it reminded him of her. He had finally taken it off when he had given up hope she would come back to him. With a small smile, he slipped it back over his wrist, snapping the closure shut.

Moving aside folded scraps of paper, Cappie found the only other thing he was looking for in the box—a small, stuffed rabbit that many years of love and wear had faded from a pale pink to a dirty gray. Looking at the animal in his hands, Cappie asked it in all seriousness, "What do you think Mr. Bun-Buns? Will she ever take us back?" The rabbit's blank stare was its only response, but that seemed to be enough for Cappie. "I wonder if she ever thought about you after she left you in my room that day. You were always her favorite thing; she hated to be without you."

With a sad smile at the rabbit, his grip tightened around it as memories from that morning flooded through his mind. They had woken up together, as they had most mornings, naked bodies so entwined in sleep it was difficult to distinguish where one ended and the other began. Until she began detangling herself, that was. As quickly as he'd ever seen her move before a cup of coffee or a shower, she dressed and turned back to him with a strange expression playing over her features. "Cappie," she had said, sitting next to him where he had pushed himself up in the bed, "We can't do this anymore. I'm sorry; I never wanted to hurt you. We're done." With no more of an explanation, she had given his hand a slight squeeze before rushing from the room, leaving him there in shock as his sleep-addled brain tried to process exactly what had just happened. By the time he wrapped his mind around her words, she was nearly back to the ZBZ house, and he knew it wouldn't do him any good to chase her there. With his heart broken, he had buried his face in her pillow, trying to will the tears away. Burrowing deeper under the blankets, he had discovered Mr. Bun-Buns wedged between the mattress and the headboard, pulling him free only to clutch the rabbit in a death grip as he cried himself back to sleep.

"Cappie! Cappie?"

His mother's voice pulled him from his thoughts, bringing him back to his parents' house where he was currently sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest, clutching the rabbit as if he would break without it, slow tears falling from his eyes. Brushing his cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt, he willed the tears to stop. He could hear his mother's footsteps on the stairs and knew she was coming to find him.

"Damn it!" he swore, giving up and dropping his head to his knees. The last thing he wanted was for his mom to come in and find him a mess on the floor, still broken-hearted over his first love after a year and a half apart. Well, as apart as they could ever be. And he wasn't sure what was worse, her being around all the time but not being able to have her, or her being completely out of his life.

"Cappie?" his mom called again, knocking on his door before opening it slowly. "Oh, Cappie," she said, seeing him on the floor with the box open around him. Sitting down on the floor next to him, she put her arm around his shoulders like she always had when he was a child, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.

The tears had long since stopped, but he wasn't quite ready to get up and leave his mother's comforting embrace. They hadn't said a word since he had sat down, but they didn't need to. She knew he just needed to sit with someone, and she would sit with him in silence all day if he needed her to.

After nearly an hour the sun was dropping lower and lower in the sky, the shadows in the room elongating and spreading. Finally, Cappie spoke. "Evan broke up with her before break," he stated simply, staring at a spot on the far wall of the room.

"What does that mean for you?" his mom asked, her arm still wrapped around his broad shoulders.

"Nothing good," he mumbled more to himself than to her, thinking about sleeping with Rebecca Logan. "I fucked up by sleeping with her sworn enemy. She just doesn't know that yet."

"The girl Evan cheated on her with?" his mom asked softly.

"One and the same," he confirmed, "but she's not really as bad as she comes across at first. She's actually nice… when she wants to be."

Stroking a lock of hair off his forehead, she placed a kiss to the top of his head, "If you are meant to be with Casey, you guys will work through this. Just be honest and upfront about it with her."

Nodding, he looked up at his mom, offering her a smile that didn't quite reach his bright blue eyes.

At that moment a loud grumbling sound emitted itself from his stomach, making them both laugh. "What's for dinner?" he asked, the smile and laughter finally making his eyes shine in the early twilight.

Following his mom down the stairs, he swore he would only look forward when he got back to school. He was done living in the past.


	3. Rusty

**Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out! Classes just started on Thursday, and I already have a ton of reading, plus recruitment for fall Rush, and too many ideas to write, but no time to write them. Anyway, I bring you another chapter of Boxes!**

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Chapter 3—Rusty

Rusty stepped into his hall, infinitely happier now that he was away from his parents who had been nagging him the whole week after Casey had left to go back to school. Unfortunately the dorms had been closed for the holidays, so he couldn't beg Casey to bring him back with her.

The whole holiday Rusty had avoided talking about Jen K, no matter how much his parents pushed to hear about her. He had informed them, upon the first round of questioning, that they had broken up, but he didn't specify as to why. Thankfully, Casey had helped him out with changing the subject anytime she was mentioned. Well, that was until she had left him alone with their parents, who were not ones to back down easily. A few more days there, and he would've broken down and told them everything. Luckily he had gotten through it without having to tell them about the article and who was involved.

_And I still have a few days of peace before Dale gets back,_ Rusty thought to himself as he fumbled with his keys, looking forward to locking himself in his room to sleep, listen to music, and get some work done over the next three days.

When the door to his room swung open, the happiness of being back on campus evaporated immediately as memories of the week before the holiday assaulted him. Dropping his bag on the floor, his noticed the room looked as if they had never broken up, as if she had never left.

Her sweater was still sitting on the chair where he had left it after finding it in his closet, fully intending to return it to her. There was still a framed picture of the two of them on his desk. The book she had bought him for their one month anniversary was still lying on his bed, the bookmark she had made sticking out from between the pages.

Closing the door behind him, he took a few slow steps into the room, remembering everything about her. Everything he had managed to keep out of his mind for the past four weeks. The smell of her perfume, the way her soft curves fit so perfectly against his bony structure, the fact that she was the first girl he had ever loved.

He could feel the tears prickling behind his eyes as he fought to keep them at bay. _I broke up with her, _he thought angrily, _I shouldn't still feel like this._

In his anger towards himself, his thoughts jumped to the newspaper article, and his anger turned towards the girl he had loved. _It doesn't even matter to me that she had betrayed me, that she wrote about me cheating. But she wrote all those things about Casey, about her own sister. About MY sister._

Yanking open the closet door, it slammed against the wall, but he didn't hear it. All he could hear were the words she had said to him, telling him she loved him, playing over and over in his mind.

Grabbing a box from the floor of the closet, he moved to his bed and began throwing things in it. Anything and everything that reminded him of her went into the box. The book, the framed picture, her sweater, the pillow she favored when lying on his bed, his favorite jacket that she loved, they all went into the box.

He was so distracted by the frantic packing that he didn't even hear the soft knock or opening of his bedroom door. He was just about to throw his physics book into the box because it reminded him of all the nights they spent together in the library, when he heard the door click shut behind him.

Turning quickly, curious to see who would dare to intrude on his anger, he was surprised to see his sister standing in the doorway. She was watching him, compassion filling her eyes.

"Case?" he asked, his voice surprisingly calm for the emotional rage and turmoil inside of him.

"Hey Russ," she responded, taking a few steps into the room. "I just thought I'd drop by to make sure you got back alright."

"I got back just fine, thanks," he replied off-handedly, wondering why exactly she was here. She had never cared about his well-being before, except when she was using it to cover up something she needed to talk about. "Why are you really here?" he asked with a sigh, setting the book down next to the box and sinking into his desk chair.

"I just," she started, then paused. "I just wanted to see how you were dealing with everything, coming back here after everything that happened just before we left," she answered honestly, moving to sit on the bed near her brother.

Surprised at his sister's honesty and concern, he looked up from where he gaze had been concentrating on the floor. Meeting her searching gaze, he resigned himself to finally talking about Jen K. "It's not going too well," he said after a moment, "She's everywhere."

Gesturing to the room around him, he continued, "Everything here reminds me of her. Every time I close my eyes, she's there; telling me lies and making me believe she loves me. I just want it to stop, to let me move on with my life. I broke up with her, I shouldn't be feeling like this." The thoughts that had made him so angry just a half hour before only served to depress him now.

Casey watched her younger brother, observing the emotions and pain playing over his features as he talked. For all their differences, he reminded her a lot of herself. She listened to him talk, and if she didn't know better, she would have sworn it was her during her first year. The feelings of guilt after breaking up with your first love, the wishing the pain would just go away so you could move on. The circumstances may have been different, but the feelings and emotions were the same.

"It just takes some time," she told him, setting her hand gently on his arm. "She was your first girlfriend, your first love. I don't think we ever really forget them."

He nodded, slowly, listening as she opened up to him. It was a rare occasion for Casey to open up to anyone, much less her younger brother.

"Russ," she said slowly, "I hope you didn't break up with her because of anything I said."

Seeing his sister's guilt, he shook his head, "No, I didn't break up with her because you told me to. I broke up with her because she betrayed me, and more importantly because she betrayed you. By betraying you, she hurt me more than by writing about me in the article."

She shook her head, not knowing what to say to her brother. "What did I ever do to deserve a brother like you?" she asked, sincerely wondering why Rusty could care so much about her after she had made the first 18 years of his life complete hell.

"Case," he said, smiling at her, "You're my sister. You'll always be my sister. And that means you'll come first in situations like this."

With tears in her eyes, she threw her arms around her little brother, "Thank you, Rusty. For everything you've done this year. For being there with me through mess after mess."

"That's what little brothers are for," he responded, hugging her back. For the first time in his life, he knew she would always be there for him, standing by him as he had always done for her.

Releasing his tiny frame, Casey looked from Rusty to the box on the bed. "Do you need some help packing these things?" she asked, moving things to make more space in the box.

"Sure," he agreed, standing up from the chair and handing her a notebook that had been lying on the desk. For the next fifteen minutes they packed the box in silence, Rusty handing over items that reminded him too much of Jen K, and Casey tucking them away. Finally, when everything had gone into the box, Rusty looked at his big sister, with one single tear falling from his eye. "Will you take the box?" he asked, wanting the memories to be as far away from him as possible.

"Of course," she agreed, hugging him briefly before lifting the box off the bed. "Do you want to get dinner later?" she asked, not quite ready to give up her time with her brother in their new-found friendship.

"Sure," he said, "I'll come by the house at 6?"

"That sounds great. See you then, Russ," she replied, a smile gracing her lips.

"Bye, Case," he responded, closing the door after she had exited with the box.

_Hopefully now I can move forward, _he thought, _now that everything that reminds me of her is gone. _


	4. Jen K

Chapter 4—Jen K.

After Rusty had broken up with her, Jen K had grabbed a backpack of clothes and left for home. There were still a few days left before the holidays, but she was done with her finals and with everyone angry at her, she couldn't stay at Cyprus Rhodes any longer.

Now here she was, four weeks later, back at school. She had come back on the first morning the dorms were open, so she still had a few days before most people would get back. Just enough time to pack her things and get out before anyone realized she was there.

Plugging in her iPod, she began folding and packing the clothes she had left. As she folded, she tried not to think about the past four weeks, the majority of which had been spent crying in her room. Even the national byline of her article only served to bring more tears. She tried not to think about Rusty or the last time she had been truly happy, which was when she had been with him. Actually, she tried not to think about anything at all.

Pulling a sweatshirt off its hanger, a smile spread across her face. She thought about the first time she and Rusty had had sex, and how he couldn't get the zipper to come undone. The zipper had gotten caught on a snag in the cloth, and wouldn't get free for anything he had tried. Finally he had given up and pulled it over her head, making her promise to never again wear that sweatshirt. The smile quickly faded as she remembered the way he made her feel when they were together; when she knew she was loved. And now, now she was alone.

The song on her iPod ended, changing over to a new song. Just hearing the opening notes, she collapsed to the floor, clutching the sweatshirt tightly against her chest.

_You were everything I wanted_

_You were everything a girl could be_

_Then you left me brokenhearted_

_Now you don't mean a thing to me_

Her heart broke again, remembering the way she had betrayed the only boy she had ever loved. He had trusted her, when he confided in her about the cheating, about his sister. And she had broken that trust, she had exploited him, for an article. An article that was now a popular topic of conversation across the country, but still, just an article. She knew he could never trust her again, that she had destroyed everything they had worked to build.

She had never expected the article to be received the way it was, to have a national spread. It was supposed to remain an anonymous article in the school paper, nothing more. But it had sparked a serious investigation into the school's Greek system, and in a matter of hours the national papers had gotten a hold of the story, as well as her name.

By then there was nothing left she could do besides hold on tight for the ride. She knew she would have to tell Rusty about the article before it was printed nationally, and she had prayed he would take it better than he did. She had tried to explain it to him, to explain what had prompted her to write it, before telling him she had written it. She had tried, but failed. And when she told him the truth, the look in his eyes broke her heart.

The pain in his eyes made her feel as if she was killing puppies, hurting and destroying something completely innocent. He had been so naïve to the ways of the heart, to the world, before she entered his life. And she had broken that naïveté. She had ripped out his heart and stomped on it.

She had hoped, with every fiber of her being, that he would be rational after he had asked her to leave the first time. She prayed he would think about the things she had told him, that he would understand her need to write the article.

The article had been a once-in-a-lifetime chance, a chance to make a name for herself. It was the kind of story many journalists wait their entire careers for, and she had gotten it while still a student.

She had taken the opportunity, exposing the Greek system for what it truly was. She knew that if her name was released, she would be exiled by the Greek community, regarded as a traitor, a Benedict Arnold. But Rusty, Rusty was rational. He would understand.

_Hate is a strong word_

_But I really, really, really don't like you_

_Now that it's over_

_I don't even know what I liked about you_

But he didn't. He didn't understand. And the next time she saw him, he had told her it was over. She had tried pleading with him. She would have resorted to begging, if not for Dale's presence. And she knew. When Rusty had told Dale to stay, she knew there would be no going back. There was nothing she could possibly do to make it okay. There was nothing she could do to regain his trust. She had lost him forever, pushing him out of her life for a newspaper article.

As the song came to an end, she pulled herself from the floor, unplugging the iPod and shoving it away. She couldn't take anymore music.

Wiping her eyes, she finished packing as quickly as possible and moved the boxes to the car. Picking up the last box, she looked around the empty room, taking in her last view of CRU. She would move-in at Kent State the following day, but she wasn't quite ready to leave the place that had felt like home.

Closing the door behind her, she stopped only to turn her key into the RSO, and proceeded to leave the building. Once outside, she knew she was done with CRU and would never come back to the campus. There were too many memories. Too many things she had destroyed, too many people she had hurt with her article.

As she crossed the street to her car, she looked around her one last time. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the snow-covered campus in a pink hue. It was beautiful. And it was then that she saw him. He was walking up the street towards her, clearly going from his dorm to Greek Row.

It didn't seem like he had seen her, his gaze was fixed on the ground in front of him. She watched him as he carefully stepped around the ice on the walkway. His shoulders sagged more than usual, and he shuffled along in a way she had never seen him do. It appeared as if he had an enormous weight sitting on his shoulders, and he was left alone to deal with it.

And he was, she realized, she had left him alone to deal with the aftermath of the article. There was no doubt he would take some of the blame for her writing the article, after all, everyone knew they had been together for the majority of the semester.

Breaking her gaze from Rusty's thin frame, she turned and hurried to her car, needing to get away. She wouldn't be able to handle talking to him, or worse, him ignoring her existence. So she rushed to the car, quickly shoving the box into the back before climbing into the driver's seat and starting the engine. She kept her eyes down as the engine warmed up, hoping he hadn't noticed her. Hoping she could make a quick escape before he got closer.

Finally, she pulled away from the curb, exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Stopping at the corner, she looked up, and made eye contact with the very person she had prayed she wouldn't see.

He offered her a nod of acknowledgement, the pain still evident in his eyes, before breaking eye contact and continuing in his progression across the street. He never looked back.

Moving her foot from the brake to the gas, neither did she.


	5. The End, or a Beginning?

**Hey guys, my wireless internet card died, so my computer got sent in for repairs. I'll try to update when I can, but it'll probably be hard for the next few weeks. Until then, a new chapter!! **

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Chapter 5—The End, or a Beginning?

Just a few weeks into the new semester, Casey was sleep deprived and fighting off the beginnings of a cold. She had taken on a heavier than usual class load, and was spending all her free-time working on ZBZ matters. With the representative from National watching over her shoulder, she had to be careful with everything she did.

With a never-ending list of things to do, she had not had the time to think about Evan or Cappie. She barely had time to eat or sleep.

One Friday evening, Casey returned to the house after a Pan-Hellenic council meeting, content to do nothing but crawl into bed and go to sleep. Just before entering the house, she heard the music and noise coming from the occupants and remembered the mixer they were hosting that evening.

With a quick text to Ashleigh, telling her that something had come up, Casey turned and walked away. Without thinking, her feet carried her to the Kappa Tau house, where she found herself knocking on the door just as a coughing fit took over.

Surprised as she was to see Cappie open the door, she turned her head away, trying to will the coughing to stop.

"Casey?" he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Is Rusty here?" she asked between coughs, trying to take in as much oxygen as her lungs would allow her.

"Yeah, he's here," Cappie responded, taking in her haggard appearance. "Come on in and I'll get him for you." With a gentle hand on her shoulder, he led her into the house, closing the door behind them.

"Hey, Spitter!" he called towards the kitchen, "Get out here!"

Rusty emerged from the kitchen a moment later, surprised to see his sister looking so miserable. Her nose was red and runny, her eyes puffy and swollen from rubbing them. Her shoulders shook from the violence of her coughing, and she looked like she was having problems staying on her feet. "You okay, Case?" he asked, genuinely concerned over his sister's health. "You look like hell."

"Well thank you for that assessment Rusty," she responded with a slight wheeze. "There's a party at the ZBZ house tonight and all I want to do is sleep. I was wondering if I could crash at your dorm for the night."

"Usually I would say yes, but Dale has a friend over for the weekend and he's using my bed. I'm staying here for a couple of days."

"Oh, ok," Casey replied, wiping her runny nose in a very un-Zeta Beta way. Turning back towards the door to the house, she was stopped by Cappie's grip tightening on her shoulder. She hadn't even realized his hand was still there.

"Stay here tonight, Case," Cappie told her, "everyone is out for the night, so it'll be quiet around here."

"I can't," she told him, turning to face him, "I don't want to impose like that."

"You're never imposing, Casey," he replied, a small smile crossing his face, "And I think your copy of _Beauty and the Beast_ is still here."

Casey smiled back at him, thankful he still cared about her after everything that had happened, everything she had done. "I was wondering where that got to," she said, giving in and allowing Cappie to lead her upstairs.

"I'll bring you something," Rusty told her, watching the forms of his two favorite people at CRU disappear up the stairs. Hurrying back to the kitchen he rummaged around until he found some mint tea shoved in the back of a cabinet, from the last time Casey was here, he expected. With the mug of tea and a bottle of NyQuil, he headed upstairs to find his sick sister.

As he came upon Cappie's room, he could hear the beginnings of _Beauty and the Beast_. It was one of Casey's favorite movies, but one that she only watched when she was sick. Knocking carefully on the slightly ajar door, he pushed it open and entered. Looking at the scene in front of him, he smiled.

Cappie was reclining comfortably on his bed, with Casey curled tightly into his side, his arms wrapped around her small frame. They were buried under a pile of blankets, which were drawn up to where Casey's head was resting on Cappie's broad chest. Her eyes were watching the TV, where the townspeople were singing. Cappie's eyes were watching Casey, filled with concern over her well-being.

"I brought you some NyQuil," Rusty said, setting it on the table next to the bed, "and a cup of mint tea, just the way you like it."

Pulling her eyes away from the screen, she rolled away from Cappie to look at her brother. "What would I do without you?" she asked, the question directed towards both of the men in the room. As she reached for the tea, Rusty handed her the small cup of medicine, which she quickly swallowed. Taking a few sips of the tea, she set it back on the nightstand and turned back to Cappie.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Case," Rusty said, retreating from the room, "Sleep well."

"I will," she replied, her voice muffled from where her face was buried in Cappie's shirt.

With Cappie's warm arms wrapped around her, the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear, and the soft music from the TV, Casey drifted off in no time, her coughing easing off as she fell asleep.

Laying there, with Casey's body curled into his, Cappie glanced at the clock. 7:45, it read, and he smiled down at the girl in his arms. Kissing her on the top of her head, he laid back against the pillows. There was no where he would rather be at that time on a Friday night, than laying in bed with Casey.

Moving his hand to his pocket, he took out his phone and turned it off. The last thing he wanted was his phone to ring. Putting his arm back around her tiny frame, Cappie listened to her steady breathing, allowing himself to drift off as well.

* * *

Casey woke first the following morning, sunlight already streaming through the window. With a tiny smile she ran her fingers over his torso, barely brushing the exposed patch of skin at his waist, to his wrist. Tracing the Greek letters that were etched into the leather band around his wrist, she remembered when she had given it to him. He had just been granted full membership into Kappa Tau, and he was so excited. 

She wished her nose wasn't stuffy, so she could smell that scent was so uniquely _him_. With her face buried in the soft cotton of his shirt, she wished that she could go back in time and change the decisions she had made.

As much as she wished it was different, she knew it was better this way; that things had happened the way they did, because otherwise they wouldn't be where they were today. Curled up together in his bed, she knew he was everything to her. And she needed to tell him the truth.

She was startled when his arm moved beneath her hand, his hand turning over and moving to entwine their fingers. "Good morning," she whispered, smiling as she looked up to meet his sleepy gaze.

"G'morning," he replied sleepily. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she replied, glancing at the clock, "seeing as how I just slept for sixteen hours."

"Mmm…" Cappie muttered, "That must be why I feel better than I have since we started classes."

"Probably," she replied, snuggling back into his chest.

As much as he wanted to stay in bed with her all day, he knew she needed to eat. "Let's get you something to eat," he said, shifting beneath her, "and then we can put in another movie."

"Okay," she replied, rolling off him. "Thanks again, Cappie, for everything."

"Anything for you," he told her, the sincerity in his eyes startling her.

_Maybe things will work out, _she thought to herself, _Maybe._

**The End.**

**Watch for the sequel, _The Exhibit_!**_  
_


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